The Bulgarian nation exists as a sovereign state from as early as the end of 7th century AD.
Since Khan Asparuh arrived at the Denube's delta, he made a powerful and just alliance with the native slavic tribes, forming a unified and strong state south of Denube river.
This state soon began to challenge the mighty Byzantian Empire, defeating its imperial armies whenever it had the chance.

Much was done by the Bulgarian sovereigns to strengthen and expand its territory.
Merely 200 years after its creation, Bulgaria was now considered a medieval "superpower", controling all the Balkan Peninsula. Tzar Simeon The Great was on his way to siege and conquer Konstantinopol, the capital of Byzantia, but he died... So close to his dream, and yet - so far.

Bulgarians were blessed by God and believed they were the nation to lead the rest of the world to a brighter future. The once powerful Byzantia was forced to pay annual tributes in gold, grain and stock to its mighty northern foe.

In its second "tzardom", Bulgaria was ruled by King Yoan Asen, probably the greatest ruler it ever had. Why? Because he was not a warrior. He was a diplomat, a peacemaker.
But his neighbors were envious. And their envy darkened their hearts. Blinend by this envy, they marched their armies against Bulgaria, which was not prepared, still rejuvenating from Byzantian occupation.
The young and bold Yoan Asen rallied his small army and faced the invasion host.
On March 9th, 1230, near Klokotnitza, the bulgarian army single-handedly defeated the much stronger Epyr Empire's army.
Yoan Asen was merciful to the captured soldier and released them all to return to their homes. His kindness was appreciated by all the neighboring kingdoms and Yoan Asen became the most respected ruler on the Balkans.

The weakened and fragmented Byzantian Empire did not wait long enough to realize what would be its best political move. A delegation was sent to Bulgaria, which begged King Yoan Asen to become a regent of the under-aged Byzantian emperor. Yoan Asen humbly agreed and, after securing alliances with his other naighbors, marrying all his daughters and sisters to foreign kings, he became the single ruler of the Balkan Peninsula. His title was "King Yoan Asen The Second, by the God's mercy an Emperor of Bulgarians and Byzantians".

After Yoan Asen's death the Bulgarian Kingdom fell under Ottoman occupation. For 500 years Bulgarians did not have their own country.
They become independent again in 1878, after the Russian - Ottoman Liberation War.
A San Stefano treaty was signed, which confirmed the recreation of Bulgaria. The treaty stated that all the lands during Ottoman rule, which were populated by Bulgarians, should be included in the new state.
But the Great Powers did not want a large slavic state to be formed again, which, they thought, would strengthen Russia's position on the Balkan Peninsula.
So they all gathered in Berlin in 1879 and deprived Bulgaria from its sacred lands.

Ever since that event took place the Bulgarian people were dreaming to be reunited again. This dream was called "The Bulgarian National Ideal".

The story so far

In the wake of 2020, the world is shattered.
But, despite the international division, turmoil and troubles, Bulgaria has somehow managed to remain relatively unscathed. It was that time, when a bold, patriotic and charismatic politician came into power.

His first words as a prime-minister were: "I will make the National Ideal a reality!"
Many didn't belive him. The international opinions and comments varied from laughter to open threats.
One nation was particularly vocal in its disdain - Serbia. The serbian foreign ministry stated that any provocation from Bulgaria whatsoever, would be met with "extreme prejudice". This "extreme prejudice" was reduced to civil harrassment of the western bulgarian border territories, which were predominantly populated by bulgarian ethnos.
The Bulgarian prime-minister kept his cool and asked for 10 years of patience and trust, in order to set his plan in motion.
What his plan was he never revelaed.

Phase 1 of the Plan:
The smaller neighbors in the Balkan peninsula will be reunited within the borders of Bulgaria. This will provide us with the necessary population and resources, so the state could build a strong enough economy to support advanced military production and research, in order to begin Phase 2.

Phase 2 of the Plan
Armed with modern weapons, self-sustaining economy and ambition, Bulgaria will assault the resource-rich Romania, considering its capital is extremely close to Bulgarian borders. Romanian resources are crucial for the completion of Phase 3.

With Romania now a Bulgarian territory, a massive military build up will be ordered, so Greece and Turkey could be assaulted both at the same time. The annexation of these countries will secure Bulgaria as the single force on the Balkan Peninsula and, thus, the National Ideal will become a reality.

Research Center deactivated, no funds for research whatsoever.
A full Industrial Complex construction starts in the town of Pernik.
Petroleum fields near Shabla are being fully developed.
Ministers are instructed to increase the treasury by any means necessary.

Diplomacy:

Alliances are secured with major Western Europe countries, as long as Poland and Ukraine, as their disposition towards Bulgaria is high.
The major player on our side will be England, which possesses the necessary civilian and military technologies to make us competitive enough.
No treaties are signed with any Balkan countries, as they will be our enemies and fear must strike their hearts, seeing Bulgaria constantly expanding. And fear leads to anger and miscalculated war declarations.

Council of Ministers Emergency Meeting

'Mr. Prime-Minister, we have a problem', the defense minister said and the meeting was officially opened.
'How big of a problem?'
'Like a western-neighboring, war-mongering, always nervous and aggressive Serbia big problem, sir.'
The Prime-minister kept silent for a minute or two.
'And what do you suggest we do, my friend?'
'This is your decision, sir, but I say you don't have much time to make it.'
This time the prime-minister's silence was longer.
'How long do we have until they make their move?'
The defense-minister was obviously wishing he'd be some place else.
'According to our intelligence analysts we could expect an act of aggression within the next two to six months... sir.'
This time the silence was so thick you could cut it with a knife.
The major opposing party's leader was first to lose his composure.
'I will not stand here, talking about war with you, buch of thugs! You obviously want to plung this country into chaos. I'm leaving, so you can discuss how to kill half of our population in a war we are not prepared for!'
After that he theatrically exited the hall.
'What a piece of...', started the other opposing party's leader, but the prime-minister interrupted him.
'Leave him be, he'll eventually come around.'
And the he faced everyone.
'Are we all here in agreement, we should do something about this matter?'
'Like what, Mr. Prime-Minister? Go to UN and cry about it? Ask for money? Who will we ask? Since you were elected, you were the one, who sent half of 1st and 2nd Armies into reserves, closed bases, cut the military budget by 50%, so you can build roads and exploit the tiny petrolium reserves we have at Shabla?'
The opposing party's leader was obviously flooded with adrenaline.
'What do we have, Valentin?', asked the prime-minister.
'Despite the budget cuttings and the overall decreased military efficiency, we have sufficient numbers and personnel to repel any attack by Serbia, sir.'
"It's time for the bomb. My God help me."
The prime-minister leaned forward and pierced the defense minister with his eyes.
'And do we have enough for more?'
Yes, this time the bomb exploaded for real.
'What, in the world's hell, do you think you are doing, you fool?!?', the opposing party's leader was on the verge of spontaneous combustion.
The prime-minister slowly stood up.
'I'm trying to save this nation. Do you mind?'
His massive presence was truly intimidating.
His opponent became quite small in his chair.
The head of state turned to the foreign minister:
'Analysis, Nina?'
The young chief of foreign affairs was pale enough, but she did everything in her powers to sound confident.
'Serbia is in bad shape, sir. They didn't take the last 10 years well. everyone hate them, they lack international partners and support...'
'So do we', the opposing party leader interrupted.
'Shut up, for Christ's sake!', the prime-minister raised his voice and then turned to the head of defense, 'Valentin, where will they hit?'
'Our capital, most likely.'
'All right, here is what we're going to do. Valentin, I want you to entrench the Sofia garrisons and order 1st and 2nd armies to Plovdiv and Stara Zagora...'
'But the serbs will likely attack with their entire army and...'
'Yes, they will attack, where we want them to attack. The capital's garrisons will have to soak some punishment and hold the defense, until all the mechanized and armor divisions roll from Plovdiv and Stara Zagora. Then we will hit them with everything we've got and, hopefully, we will issue a counter-offensive.'
Th prime-minister made a pause.
'A counter-offensive all the way to Beograd.'
'That's absurd.', the opposing party leader said.
'No, it's not. And that's where you come in, Nina.' The prime-minister turned towards his female subordinate., 'I want friends. I don't care how will you do it, but I want international sympathy. I want everyone to see how will we suffer. And I want it yesterday. Put some lipstick, get some high heels on and charm these bastards. I don't want somebody to become trigger-happy and blow the whole thing off. Ok?'
The foreign minister blinked.
'I'll do my best, sir.'
'All right, ladies and gentlemen, you have your orders. Let's see if we can pull this off.'
Everyone started going out. Everyone, but the opposing party leader, who came close to the prime-minister and said.
'I seriously hope you know what are you doing. Because, if you don't, I'll have your head on a silver platter.
"Was that a respect in his voice?"

As the start for Bulgaria is scripted and Serbia attacks almost immediately, existing armed forces will be used for the counter-offensive.
Unit initiative is high, salaries are at recommended.
Expected casualties - around 10%, which will be more than compensated by the captured Serbian units once Beograd falls.
Begin construction of 20 units of Engineers, the design is negotiated with England.

Bulgaria's actions made the serbs even more nervous.
They didn't wait for 10 years to see what would happed.
They decided to attack immediately.

Serbia attacks Bulgaria on July 4th, 2020, 05:00.

And they fell into Bulgaria's trap.
The Serbian political leadership underestimated Bulgarian army's determination and their invasion force was successfully repelled near Sofia.
The way to Beograd was open and Bulgarian forces had no troubles, conquering the Serbian capital with minimal losses and minimal collateral damage to the population.
Serbia was included in the Bulgarian state on September 9th, 2020.

The international community was astounded by the bulgarian armed forces'quick actions, mobility and strategic moves.
So were the allies.

Analysis:
The 27 units lost during the battle with the Serbs confirmed the defense report that Bulgarian armed forces are equipped with almost obsolete designs, which are adequate for local conflicts, but are no match for the modern NATO and Russian military technologies. Steps must be taken, so the entire 1st and 2nd Bulgarian armies to be re-equipped and reorganized structurally between Phases 1 and 2, so they can stand against the Greek and Turkish forces, which possess modern american tanks, artillery and multi-role attack aircraft. Bulgaria will work towards diplomatic treaties to purchase military designs from its allies, mainly - Ukraine and England. Since both invasions against Greece and Turkey will be conducted mainly by land, Bulgarian forces must consist of modern tank, artillery and air forces, supported by at least a mid-sized missile division.

The Prime Minister's Office, Sofia, September 10th, 2020

'Congratulations, Mr. Premier! You have done something that Bulgaria has never seen since the Second Bulgarian Tzardom!'
The foreign minister was so excited, she could barely stand still.
'You have done well, Mr. Premier! The whole world talks about this swift and decisive victory!'
The defense minister was obviously still in a military mode. Looks like he could take over the entire world.
'We have captured valuable military assets, sir!'
The prime-minister gazed at both his closest people in the council and said:
'We've lost 43,461 lives in this war, collegues... This is not a time for celebration. We have a responsibility to these fallen heroes. And their families.'
The akward silence continued for a long time.
'We will make sure they are never forgotten, sir.'
'Yes, collegues, we will. I will declare a 3-days of national mourning and then we will start rebuilding Serbia. In the meantime, all the military will stand down and we will decrease our DEFCON to 5. Let's show our new partners that we can be civilized and our cause is just, please.'
'But the General Staff will disapprove, sir. I have already received pretty aggressive suggestions for operations in...'
The prime-minister raised his hand.
'It's not the time, Valentin. Send me the financial and the economic ministers. We have 4 million serbs to take care of.'
'Yes, sir!'

So economic and social build up began:

Both research facilities re-activated and Nuclear Power Plant has been ordered, as well as Dark Matter Theories.
Work towards self-sufficiency continues, but Consumer Goods and Electric Power are still imported, as the population amount doesn't support large labor expansion at the moment.
After the Nuclear Power is fully implemented, the self-sufficiency will be achieved and all the inefficient petrol and coal power plants will be closed down.

My fellow countryman is took this game for very, very reality. Many pictures of Boiko Borisov(ex-prime minister) and history pictures.
I don't know how he was succeeded to conquer Serbia with so much casualties-27 In the start of the game begin to build in Pernik(near to Sofia and big supply level) 2 -3 consumer goods and 1 industrial goods, infrastructure on max and the economy will grow. With a lot of engineers after that you without any problems can conquer Serbia without losses of units. I did that 2-3 times already.
I am interesting how he proceed, because my computer is slow and after 2-3 game years, the game start to work very slow and I stopping to play forward. And I never reaching the end until now I think is time to buy new computer for me.